Flotation processes are known in the art and are used for recovering and concentrating minerals from ores. In froth flotation processes the ore is crushed and wet ground to obtain a pulp. Additives such as mineral flotation or collecting agents, frothers, suppressants, stabilizers, etc. are added to the pulp to assist separating valuable materials from undesirable or gangue portions of the ore in subsequent flotation steps. The pulp is then aerated to produce a froth at the surface. The minerals which adhere to the bubbles or froth are skimmed or otherwise removed and the mineral bearing froth is collected and further processed to obtain the desired minerals. Typical mineral flotation collectors include xanthates, amines, alkyl sulfates, arene sulfonates, dithiocarbamates, dithiophosphates, and thiols.
While the art of ore flotation has reached a significant degree of sophistication it is a continuing goal in the ore recovery industry to increase the productivity of ore flotation processes and above all to provide specific processes which are selective to one ore or to one metal over other ores or other metals, respectively, which are present in the treated material.